WASHINGTON, D.C. - Yesterday, U.S. Senator Rick Scott introduced two bills directing the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to identify and suspend Chinese Communist Party (CCP) military companies from trading on U.S. exchanges.

The bills, known as the Know Your Sanctioned Securities Act and the Protecting U.S. Investors from Chinese Military Companies Act, would publicize Communist China-tied companies and bar these companies from being publicly traded on American exchanges.

Senator Rick Scott said, "Communist China's military companies want to use U.S. markets and exchanges to fund the CCP's efforts to attack our way of life using dollars from American investors. We can't let that happen. Communist China has chosen to be our enemy and it's time for Congress to act by passing these bills to protect Americans from funding an adversary which wishes to destroy us."

The Know Your Sanctioned Securities Act:

• Directs the SEC to attach a ticker modifier "CMC" (Chinese Military Company) to securities of companies identified by the Department of War as supporting Communist China's military.

• Mandates the SEC establish rules for removal of the modifier if an entity is delisted.

The Protecting U.S. Investors from Chinese Military Companies Act establishes:

• Mandatory Trading Suspension: Within 10 days of a U.S. Department of War Section 1260H list revision, the SEC must indefinitely suspend trading of securities for any Chinese military company that remains on the list across two consecutive annual revisions.

• OFAC Exception and Congressional Notice: If the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Department of the Treasury (OFAC) adds a covered company to its Non-SDN Chinese Military-Industrial Complex (CMIC) Companies List, the SEC must notify relevant congressional committees within 10 days that it won't take action due to that company's presence on Treasury's Non-SDN CMIC list.

• SEC Authority Limitations: The SEC is restricted to issuing regulations strictly necessary to implement suspensions and notifications, and is explicitly barred from determining list criteria, expanding trading prohibitions beyond the statute, or regulating unrelated entities and transactions.

Both bills are endorsed by Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA) and the American Securities Association (ASA).

Jon Toomey, President of CPA, said, "American retirees should never be funding Communist China's military. Senator Scott's bills are critical to ensuring investors know what they own and keeping U.S. savings out of the People's Liberation Army's hands. CPA salutes Senator Scott for putting American investors first."

Chris Iacovella, American Securities Association President and CEO, said, "ASA applauds Senator Scott for prioritizing America's economic and national security by holding Communist China accountable. When the Pentagon designates a company as a Chinese military company, that company has no business raising capital from American working families, savers, and retirees. These CCP-controlled firms have traded freely on U.S. exchanges for years despite those designations - that's not a procedural gap, it's a strategic failure that Senator Scott's bills fix."

Bill text for The Protecting U.S. Investors from Chinese Military Companies Act can be found HERE.

Bill text for The Know Your Sanctioned Securities Act can be found HERE.

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